Dmitri Alperovitch: Building CrowdStrike and Shaping Cyber Policy

Dmitri Alperovitch arrived in the United States as a teenager and quickly immersed himself in computer security. After early work at startups such as CipherTrust, where he helped create the TrustedSource reputation system, he moved to McAfee and led high-profile investigations into state-sponsored intrusions, including Operation Aurora and the Night Dragon espionage campaign. His 2011 report on Operation Shady RAT documented suspected Chinese breaches across dozens of global organizations, establishing his reputation as a leading threat researcher.

Founding CrowdStrike

In late 2011, Alperovitch teamed with entrepreneur George Kurtz and Gregg Marston to launch CrowdStrike, a security technology company aimed at protecting enterprises and governments from cyber espionage and cybercrime. The company attracted significant venture backing, including a $100 million round led by CapitalG in 2015, and brought former senior FBI officials onto its leadership team. By 2017, total funding reached $256 million and the valuation approached $1 billion. CrowdStrike went public on the Nasdaq in June 2019, achieving a market value above $10 billion.

Transition to Policy Work

Alperovitch departed CrowdStrike in February 2020 to establish the Silverado Policy Accelerator, a nonprofit think tank in Washington, D.C., dedicated to policy challenges arising from great-power competition. The organization addresses military strategy, cybersecurity, international trade, industrial security, and economic and energy security. In this role, he has issued notable geopolitical forecasts, including a correct prediction of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, and has been personally sanctioned by the Russian government. He has also advised U.S. government bodies, serving on the Cyber Safety Review Board and the Homeland Security Advisory Council, and acted as a special advisor to the Department of Defense.

Ongoing Influence

Beyond Silverado, Alperovitch holds board positions with several security firms. He chairs the board of Automox, a cloud-based IT operations company, sits on the board of Dragos, which specializes in industrial control system cybersecurity, and serves as a board observer for Sublime Security, an email security startup. These roles keep him connected to the operational side of the industry while his primary focus remains on shaping national and international policy responses to evolving cyber threats.